04 Bandits

Hearing the people behind her muttering to themselves, Chinua looked up at the tall city wall again. Chinua stopped her horse and turned to take one last look at Batsaikhan, who was looking at her from his wheelchair. Chinua smiled and put her right hand on her left chest, slowly bowing her head to Batsaikhan. Chinua then beat the horse on the back with a whip and rushed out of the city with her two personal guards.

Watching Chinua and her two bodyguards slowly disappear into the morning horizon, Batsaikhan slowly turned his wheelchair around and he saw Qara standing behind him.

Qara asked, "Is she gone?"

Batsaikhan said, "Yes, mother, Chinua is gone." He looked up at Qara. "Mother, please don't blame me."

Qara bent down in front of Batsaikhan. Her hand patted his head lightly. She said, "I will never blame you." She stood up and smiled. "The smartest people don't walk on their own legs; they walk using the legs of the others." She glanced at Batsaikhan. "Remember that."

Chinua slowed her horse as she approached the tall prairie grass. She raised her head and breathed in some fresh air. She turned to the right and said, "Khunbish, you have been to North Camp before, how many days will we have to get to the training camp?"

Khunbish said, "It will take ten days. The small village of Ntoo is just ahead, does Chinua want to stay there?"

Chinua asked, "Why?"

Khenbish said, "Anyone who travels from the capital to the northern city will stop at Ntoo before heading to Nta-tshua."

Chinua said, "Nta-tshua? I want to see the city for myself. I just read and hear what people say." She sighed. "Seeing it with my own eyes is better than hearing it a hundred times."

Khunbish said, "Would two days be enough for Chinua to look around?"

Chinua said, "I want to stay a little longer if I can?"

Khenbish said, "Stay a little longer and we're going to be late for the recruit's opening ceremony."

Chinua turned to look at Khenbish and grinned, "Why do you always like to be against me?"

Khenbish smiled at Chinua and said, "I like being punctual."

Chinua scoffed, "Punctual? You'd rather be nosy." She whipped her horse. "Cha... let's race to the Ntoo!"

Khunbish, "Chinua don't rush out." He frowned. "There are a lot of bandits on this road." He hurried to catch up with Chinua.

Khenbish quickly chased Chinua and Khunbish across the steppe.

Chinua stopped her horse on a hill overlooking four men fighting one man. Khunbish and Khenbish stop next to Chinua.

Chinua asked, "Let's go see what those people are doing down there."

Khenbish grabbed Chinua's arm. He pointed to the flags of the men and said, "Chinua, these are bandits. They don't usually steal from locals or poor tourists. They usually steal from merchants."

"Sometimes, they're just creating an attractive opportunity," Khunbish said. "We have to approach it carefully."

Chinua dismounted, as did Khunbish and Khenbish. Chinua walked slowly down the hill, withering her horse. She said, "I'd love to know how these bandits work."

Khenbish shook his head and said, "Know your enemy and know yourself, and you will not be afraid in a hundred battles."

Chinua turned around, raise her brows at Khenbish and said, "How do you know?"

Khenbish said, "Because Chinua is going to kill these bandits."

Chinua, Khunbish and Khenbish stood not far from the five who were engaged in a battle of fierceness.

Khunbish asked, "Who do you think will win?"

Khenbish replied, "I don't know."

They looked at Chinua and asked, "How about you?"

Chinua said, "None of them will win."

Khenbish asked, "Why do you say that?"

Chinua said, "Obviously, they were pretending."

Khunbish asked, "How do you know?"

Chinua said, "Don't look, just listen."

Khenbish said, "I still don't get it."

"Every time, when they were going to punch and kick a guy, they muttered loudly, like they were telling that guy they were going to punch and kick," Chinua said, looking at her two bodyguards. "Sometimes eyes can give you false information, so we need eyes and ears to make the final judgment." She sighed. "What a waste of skill." She grabbed her horse rope and started walking, leaving a long distance between her and the bandits.

Drystan shouted, "Help me."

Chinua looked at the battered and walked slowly past them. From the look of the man, Chinua knew that he was not an Magoli. With his paler skin, blond hair, and those big hazel eyes, he must be an Alhu from Alohul, a country farther north.

Drystan shouted again, "Hey, are you just walking past without helping?" One of the men punched Drystan hard in the stomach, causing him to stumble back and dropped to the ground.

Chinua stopped her horse and said, "A wise person will not go looking for trouble." She continued to walk away from Drystan and the bandits.

Drystan quickly grabbed an axe from one of the bandits and threw it at Chinua. Khunbish quickly drew the sword from behind with his left hand, splitting the axe in two. The damage axe fell two feet from Chinua's face. Khenbish quickly moved his body and stood beside Chinua.

Khunbish stepped up quickly, his sword aimed at Drystan. Drystan quickly got up from the ground, and pulled two more axes from his belt.

Drystan, holding two axes in his hand, scoffed at Khunbish . He said happily, "Come on, man, show me what you got. Ha...ha...ha..."

Khunbish swung his sword at Drystan, and the force of the sword sent Drystand staggering back a few steps. The other five took out their axes and started attacking Khunbish, which caused Khenbish to rush forward to assist him.

Chinua grabbed the bow from the horse's back and drew an arrow. She fixed the arrow on the bow, aimed it at one of the bandit's leg, and quickly released it.

Chinua's arrow twirled a short distance away, hitting one of the bandits in the back of the calf. The swift arrow pierced the bandit's flesh, and with a quick scream, the bandit fell to his knees.

Chinua quickly drew another arrow and shot it at one of the bandits who was swinging his axe at Khunbish's back. The arrow pierced the robber's right arm. Chinua pulled out another arrow and let out another arrow. The arrow hit the outer right thigh of the same bandit. The arrow pierced the inner thigh of the bandit, making the bandit fall to the ground and unable to move.

The two bandits turned and rushed towards Chinua, but stopped twenty yards from Chinua, because Chinua's arrow was already aimed at them. The two bandits looked at each other, and both bandits sprinted towards Chinua.

Chinua quickly fired an arrow at the bandit who was charging from the left. The arrow hit the bandit in the neck, and the bandit fell to the ground. Chinua blocked the bandit with the axe in her right hand with her bow, and her right hand drew the dagger from the scabbard hanging on her right. She quickly wrapped the bow around the bandit's right wrist, pulled the string hard, and released it. The sharp bowstring pierced deeply into the bandit's flesh. Chinua quickly inserted the dagger in her right hand into the left side of the bandit's neck. The bandit fell to his knees slowly.

Chinua grabbed the bloody bow, drew another arrow from the quiver on the side of the horse, and aimed it at Drystan. She shouted out, "Hey, bandit!"

Just as Khenbish stabbed the last bandit in the stomach, Drystan quickly retreated from Khunbish. Khunbish and Khenbish slowly backed up to Chinua's side.

Chinua said, "Move and die."

Drystan stared coldly at Chinua and the two men lying a few feet away from Chinua. He sneered, "Who the hell are you, lady?"

Chinua said, "You really are a talented person, why should you be a bandit?"

Drystan laughed, "It's not like I have other options."

"Everyone has options, it's up to you, which ones you choose," Chinua said, staring at Drystan. "Hey, Alhu, if you want to live, don't commit crimes in Hmagol."

Drystan is never afraid of death, so even if he stares at it, he will not shrink from his pride. He sneered, "What if I do? What are you going to do, Magoli?" He smirked at Chinua.

Chinua stared at Drystan, loosening her bowstring, but her eyes remained on Drystan. Drystan didn't blink as Chinua's arrow swept past him. Chinua lowered the bow and hung it back on a hook in the saddle.

Chinua said, "Because when I'm return from my trip, I'm going to pick out all the bad grains in our rice bucket and feed them to the chickens." She looked at Drystan. "Alhu, what's your name?"

Drystan chuckled, "I don't know why you keep referring to me as an Alhu. I've never been to that part of that country and know nothing about that country." He looked at Chinua. "What's your name?"

Chinua jumped on her horse and looked down at Drystan, "Tell me yours and you'll know mine."

Drystan said, "Drystan."

Chinua smiled at Drystan and said, "You won't be worthy of my name until you're no longer a bandit." She charged her horse away from Drystan.

Drystan stood, watching the three men charge their horses into the sunset. He called behind them, "Magoli, if I have eyes on someone, that person can't get away!" He smirked. "You're one hell of a Magoli."